Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Athletics Chat

King Kipchoge, Awards Analysis, and Federation Formations: Records are Falling, but Athletes are Rising

November 24, 2019 Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Season 1 Episode 58
Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Athletics Chat
King Kipchoge, Awards Analysis, and Federation Formations: Records are Falling, but Athletes are Rising
Show Notes

Was Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two marathon an extraordinary athletic achievement? Or was it a technology-doped gimmick? Could it be viewed as both? A little late to the party, perhaps, but full of opinion as ever - we took a look at his history-making run through the streets of Vienna.

Within 24 hours of that, Brigid Kosgei was smashing Paula's time in Chicago, and so fell one of the greatest statistical outliers in the sport: the longest-standing marathon record of the post-War era. 

What a time to be a distance runner, eh? That is, unless you want to compete on a track on the World Athletics circuit... #DiamondWhat?

We also cast our eyes over the end-of-season awards, and - with hindsight - did a pretty good job guessing the winners... 

Finally - Christian Taylor's The Athletics Association is up and running, and Adam Gemili (plus others) are taking legal action against the British Olympic Association's application of Rule 40. We'll hear more over the coming weeks from athletes involved in both schemes, but it's fantastic to see them increasing their say over the governance of their own sport and careers. In the words of Billy Bragg: there is power in a union.

@BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas. You know what to do.

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).